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| Flyfishing! |
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Of course, almost all of us would prefer to be fishing but
those doggone commitments get in the way. It is a sad fact of life. When I was
a lad of fourteen, I wrote a letter to the Bumble Bee Tuna company somewhere in
Alaska. I had seen a documentary about tuna fishing on our brand new black and
white TV set. I had seen the men on the boats leaving port bound for high
adventure and going far away over the seas, sometimes as far away as South
America. I had seen the tackle they used consisting of a strong stout pole and
a simple artificial lure. I knew fishermen had to work many long hours non-stop when they
encountered a school of tuna fish. I practised making lures with the biggest
hooks that the man at the sports and tackle store had in stock. I was on the
highschool football and wrestling teams. Mr Ricks, our coach, liked to say all
the time, "No pain, No gain!". So when I lifted weights in the weightroom I put
all my effort into it in order to have strong arms and a strong back for
lifting the tuna into the boat. In addition, my training regimen included at
least three hours of study each night, usually until eleven o'clock or so. In
the morning I rose at four-thirty for my paper route, which was finished,rain
or shine, by five-forty five, giving me just enough time to get to the
highschool before six o'clock , a full two hours before everyone else so that I
could attend wrestling practice. This gave me practice at staying awake for
long hours and getting little sleep so that I would be ready for life on the
tuna ship.I got the address of the company from the label on the can; an ingeniously clever bit of sleuthing, wouldn't you say? I told them that I was an excellent fisherman. I let them know that I had caught at least fifteen kinds of fish, mostly large, in five different states. I considered it advisable to provide evidence of my background and qualifications. I also validated my information unequivocally by informing them, in a dispassionate matter of fact sort of way that, Wayne, a friend of mine, who was also our class president in school, was going to grow up to be a lawyer and that this trustworthy person could, if need be, swear even under oath that any and all assertions made by me were true beyond any, let alone a reasonable, doubt. I didn't have a picture of the twenty-seven pound catfish I had caught on a trotline with my grandpa from the Kiamishi river or the twelve pound buffalo fish I had skipped sunday school to catch or the garfish I had snagged on the Kiamishi river or the five pound steelhead I had caught from the south Umqua river in Oregon on salmon roe or the twenty-two bass I caught in one morning at Lake Texoma or other catches too numerous to mention. But I explained that very well by saying that back in those days, not very many people had cameras so we weren't in the habit of taking pictures of the fishes we caught. I did have a picture of a 2.5 pound bass and the lure I had used which of course, I included in the contents of my envelope. And which you can view on this page. I begged them to give me a position on a tuna ship. I pointed out that with me aboard, there was absolutely no way they could go wrong. I was experienced, well prepared and lucky and would really help them out. It might have been a little bit of an exaggeration but I think I tried to leave them with the impression that they would be foolish to even consider leaving port without me aboard ship.Fully confident that I had done a brilliant job of selling myself, I mailed the envelope. They did in fact write back to me. Looking back on it now, even though they did send me an answer to my letter, they had a disgustingly negative attitude. They said they had some stupid rule that I would have to be eighteen years old and that I would have to wait till I was old enough and then come all the way to Alaska to their office to apply in person for the position. To add insult to injury, they added somewhere towards the end that they couldn't guarantee that my application would be accepted due to the large number of applicants ahead of me but that they would be "happy to recieve my application" when I reached the age of eighteen and made a visit to Alaska. Folks, we are talking major disappointment here, disappointment el maximo. My mother reminded me that I had a commitment to finish school and then to attend college. I marvelled at the unbelievable lack of insight shown by those clowns. True to my character as a nice guy, I decided to give them an open ended chance to redeem themselves. I scripted a letter in response to their reply. I acknowledged reciept of their correspondence and then meticulously enumerated and reviewed my qualifications and preparations for a position on one of their ships. I let them know that I was willing to overlook the egregious error they had committed and to give them a second chance. I told them to keep my name, address, telephone, age and birthdate in a handy place where they could find it again quickly. That way they could get back with me after I turned eighteen and see if I was available. I asked my mother up until just before she died three years ago, whether or not she had been contacted. She always said, "No". |
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| Dear Angler; Greetings from Playa Zancudo, Costa Rica!
We are a small family owned sport fishing company located near the Panamanian border. You may be interested in receiving periodic fishing reports and discount offers for sport fishing packages. We would like to show our appreciation by offering all newsletter subscribers a 10% discount on any booking in 2002. Specials in: Inshore fishing, Offshore fishing, Riverfishing, Flyfiishing... For pictures, more information, visit website at www.costaricasailfish.com/ We release 'em, so our kids can catch 'em! Alta Arena provides additional outdoor activity, including but not limited to: jungle tours, horseriding, botanical gardens, skiing, sea kayaking, surfing, snorkeling, "Imagine swimming with a school of Spinner Dolphins!" |
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Interested in Fly Fishing? All About Fly Fishing! Trout and Salmon
magazine says, "Like all good fishing books it had me noting down
rivers and lochs, looking at maps and making plans" |
